The childhood habit of thumb sucking has long been recognized as a problem and many remedies have been tried over the years, with varying degrees of success. While the habit may yield to light discipline, intractable offenders who defy all reasonable measures are not uncommon. Severe orthodontic problems, which result when thumb sucking persists into later childhood, have inspired various custom devices of sometimes barbaric nature. Such "training aids" follow the teachings of Mitchell, U.S. Pat. No. 1,048,569; Rood, U.S. Pat. No. 1,633,037 and Paul, U.S. Pat. No. 2,068,109 in attempting to either physically prevent the habit or to eliminate any perceived gratification. Children, however, are capable, persistent problem solvers and learn to avoid or defeat the most elaborately expensive training aids now available. A home remedy of hot sauce or vinegar painted on the thumb, is a long standing preventive practice, and commercial solutions containing denatonium benzoate or sucrose octaacetate are also available, but sadly, in spite of all efforts, the habit may continue into puberty. The inventor has noted through extensive observation that long term control of the thumb sucking habit is seldom achieved through either the preventive measures as taught by Mitchell or the impaired gratification as taught by Rood and Paul. He has found however, that impaired gratification together with mildly unpleasant sensory stimulus provides a broadly effective retraining technique. With this technique, the prior pleasant associations are gently displaced so that the subject becomes gradually and permanently rehabituated. Another dimension of the problem lies in the fact that the subject is not disposed to cooperate with such retraining, particularly at the subconscious level, so disablement or removal the training device must be physically discouraged.
A first object of the present invention is therefore, to provide a thumb sucker retraining device which disrupts the gratification response while additionally producing mildly unpleasant sensory stimuli. A second object is to make this device resistant to efforts to either remove or disable it.
The present invention achieves these objects by providing a glove for the abused digit, usually the thumb, and covering the digit with a hard, unyielding shape having an inherent mildly unpleasant taste. The hard shape detracts from the oral aspect of gratification while the unpleasant taste introduces a negative association. Both "cures" have been employed separately in the past without systematic success but, when used together, the combination has proven consistently effective in banishing the habit. Consistent use is a primary requisite in successful retraining and, to this end, the invention may include lockable retaining means to discourage non-destructive dislocation or removal of the device.